When I was a kid and lived on West 72nd Street in Manhattan, I wanted a pair of the original Air Jordans—the red and black ones that the NBA had banned for being too flashy or some shit. There was a mom-and-pop sneaker shop on the Upper West Side that showed them off in their windows, and I’d salivate at the sight of…

Lance McCullers is on the mound making his major league debut tonight for the Astros, and he’s doing it in an especially odd choice of footwear: Batman cleats. We’re not sure if this will incur a fine from MLB, but we hope the 2012 first-rounder kept some of his $2.5m signing bonus just to be sure.